The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2014

SAT 19:00 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
Land of the Panda

China's heartland is the centre of a 5,000-year-old civilization and is home to the giant panda, the golden snub-nosed monkey and the golden takin. China faces environmental problems, but the relationship the Chinese have with their environment is deep and extraordinary. We will understand what this means for the future of China.


SAT 20:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01pwtqy)
People of the Clouds

Archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper embarks on an epic journey into the remote Peruvian Andes in search of the mysterious Chachapoya people. Once numbering half a million, they were known as the 'People of the Clouds'. Dr Cooper reveals how they developed sophisticated methods of recording stories, traded in exotic goods found hundreds of miles from their territory, and had funeral traditions that challenge assumptions about ancient human behaviour. His search for evidence takes him to astonishing cliff tombs untouched for 500 years and one of the most spectacular fortresses in South America, where the fate of the Chachapoya is revealed.


SAT 21:00 Salamander (b01pyjxw)
Series 1

Episode 3

Flemish drama series about a police inspector that gets caught up in a case that leads to the highest levels. Being pursued by unknown forces, Paul takes shelter in the monastery where his former boss Carl Cassimon has retreated, to ask for his help. Meanwhile his wife and daughter are at breaking point from constant surveillance and mysterious silent phone calls depriving them of sleep. Paul follows one of the leads on the list given to him by Robijns before Robijns's suicide.

In Flemish and French with English subtitles.


SAT 21:50 Salamander (b01q6gjp)
Series 1

Episode 4

As Paul flees the monastery, he realises that his daughter will be targeted by the goverment agents, so hastens to her school only to find that she has already been taken. Persigal, unsure of whom to trust, meets with Jonkhere, who demands results in identifying the perpetrators of the bank raid.

In Flemish and French with English subtitles.


SAT 22:40 TOTP2 (b007v15w)
Boogie Fever: A TOTP2 Disco Special

Get your dancing shoes on for a show of disco mania as Steve Wright and the TOTP2 team take you back to the dancefloor for some boogie fever. The Bee Gees are here in all their glory, along with Gloria Gaynor, Liquid Gold, Sylvester, The Village People, The Weather Girls and The Three Degrees.

There's classic dance fodder from Chic, George McCrae, Hi-Tension, Heatwave, The JALN Band, Earth Wind and Fire, Tina Charles, The Gibson Brothers and Edwin Starr, disco pop from Blondie, Yazz, Boney M and Linx, while Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Infernal bring the story up to date.

And then there's the Disco Duck. Sorry...


SAT 00:10 Queens of Disco (b0074thh)
Graham Norton profiles the leading ladies of the disco era, including Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Chaka Khan, Madonna and 'honorary disco queen' Sylvester. Includes contributions from the queens themselves, plus Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas, choreographer Arlene Phillips, songwriters Ashford and Simpson, disco artists Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire, Bonnie Pointer of The Pointer Sisters and Nile Rodgers of Chic.


SAT 01:10 The Sky at Night (b03vg99x)
Jupiter: Weather and Moons

New presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock joins Dr Chris Lintott in a revamped line-up that launches the show in its new home on BBC Four.

The main subject is Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system and particularly bright in the night sky during the British winter. What makes Jupiter's extraordinary weather? Its coloured bands and iconic 'eye' are visible manifestations of an extremely violent atmosphere. Chris and Maggie are joined by guest reporter, physicist Dr Helen Czerski, to explain why Jupiter looks so extraordinary.


SAT 01:40 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:40 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01pwtqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2014

SUN 19:00 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b007920b)
The Heart of Italy

Francesco da Mosto discovers why Rome is the Eternal City and goes head to head with Mussolini. Travelling via the fantastic water gardens of Villa d'Este and the royal seat of the Bourbon dynasty, he arrives in Naples. After an encounter with Italy's most astonishing sculpture - Sanmartino's Veiled Christ - and a lesson in Neapolitan pizza making, Francesco descends deep into the caverns of underground Naples and discovers an eerie cult of the dead.


SUN 20:00 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
Stephen Smith explores the extraordinary life and work of the virtuoso jeweller Carl Faberge. He talks to HRH Prince Michael of Kent about Faberge items in the Royal Collection and to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who spent $100 million acquiring nine exquisite Faberge eggs. The bejewelled trinkets Faberge made for the last tsars of Russia in the twilight of their rule have become some of the most sought-after treasures in the world, sometimes worth millions.

Smith follows in Faberge's footsteps, from the legendary Green Vaults in Dresden to the palaces of the tsars and the corridors of the Kremlin museum, as he discovers how this fin-de-siecle genius transformed his father's modest business into the world's most famous supplier of luxury items.


SUN 21:00 Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry with Jonathan Meades (b03vrphc)
Episode 1

Two-part documentary in which Jonathan Meades makes the case for 20th-century concrete Brutalist architecture in an homage to a style that he sees a brave, bold and bloody-minded. Tracing its precursors to the once-hated Victorian edifices described as Modern Gothic and before that to the unapologetic baroque visions created by John Vanbrugh, as well as the martial architecture of World War II, Meades celebrates the emergence of the Brutalist spirit in his usual provocative and incisive style. Never pulling his punches, Meades praises a moment in architecture he considers sublime and decries its detractors.


SUN 22:00 Free Men (b01m5d3d)
In Paris in 1941, Younes is a young Algerian man who came to Paris a few years earlier seeking work and ends up making a good living selling goods on the black market. When the Nazis occupy the city, he is coerced into informing on the Paris mosque who are believed to be supplying false papers to Jewish families. His friendships with a Jewish man and a political activist compel him to join the Resistance.

In French with English subtitles.


SUN 23:35 Neil Sedaka: King of Song (b03v2yxt)
Neil Sedaka is one of the most successful American singer-songwriters of the last century. A classically trained musician, he won a scholarship to the Juilliard School at the age of nine and four years later he embarked on a writing career that would see him create some of the most perfect pop songs of all time. Throughout his career he wrote, recorded and sang a number of instantly recognisable and memorable tunes, as well as delivering a string of hits as a songwriter for other artists.

This documentary portrait film tells the story of Neil Sedaka's life and career, in which he had two distinct periods of success. Between 1958 and 1963 he sold over 25 million records, but then his career nose-dived after the Beatles and the British Invasion hit the USA. Leaving his homeland, he found success in the UK in the early 1970s and relaunched his career before returning to the US and achieving new stardom with songs like Solitaire and Laughter in the Rain.

Neil gives great insight into how he created catchy classics like Calendar Girl, (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen and Stupid Cupid, amongst many others.


SUN 00:35 Neil Sedaka Says: All You Need Is the Music (b00pwstt)
During a career which was originally designed to make him a classical pianist, the musical achievements and statistics of singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka have made him a compelling figure in contemporary music, with 600 songs written and 20 million records sold. The hits from his early rock 'n' roll days to his later, more lyrical age are all included in this special one-man show from the 1980s.


SUN 01:20 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
A journey back to the 1950s for a look at the wildest pop music of all time in a film that tells the stories of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, giants from an era when pop music really was mad, bad and dangerous to know.

The programme features the artists themselves, alongside people like Bill Haley's original Comets, The Crickets, Buddy Holly's widow Maria Elena, Jerry Lee Lewis's former wife Myra Gail and his sister, Chuck Berry's son and many more, including June Juanico, Elvis's first serious girlfriend.

Other contributors include Tom Jones, Jamie Callum, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, Green Day, Minnie Driver, Jack White of The White Stripes, The Mavericks, Jools Holland, Hank Marvin, Fontella Bass, John Waters and more.

Elvis's pelvis was just the start. Who had to change the lyrics to their biggest hit because the originals were too obscene? Who married their 13-year-old cousin? Who used lard to get their hair just right? And what happened on the day the music died?


SUN 02:20 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b007920b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



MONDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2014

MON 19:00 World News Today (b03vpvvc)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Reel History of Britain (p00jtm6v)
Britain's Wartime Evacuees

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.

In Torquay, Melvyn looks back to the 1940s and the largest mass movement of people in British history - wartime evacuation. Bunty Tait shares her epic adventure as a runaway evacuee. EastEnders star Derek Martin tells stories of his time as an evacuee and relives the terror of the Blitz. And Derek Capel recounts his harrowing experience of surviving a torpedo attack by the Nazis when he was evacuated overseas.


MON 20:00 Amazon Abyss (b00hh4ws)
Compilation 1

The bottom of the Amazon River is home to many of the strangest and fiercest creatures in the world. This is the first in a two-part series following the high-adrenaline adventures of a team of divers as they explore and film the depths of the world's greatest river system.

It is the first time an expedition has ever attempted anything so ambitious, and they discover an alien world, full of beautiful and bizarre creatures. Stingray, freshwater dolphins, talking fish and the mysterious Jau are all to be found in the river's depths.

Mike deGruy and Kate Humble lead the international team of scientists and divers as they search for species new to science and come face to face with the monsters of the deep.


MON 21:00 Top of the Pops (b03mpphw)
The Story of 1979

1979 was a unique year for Top of the Pops, which saw the show record its highest audience of 19 million viewers and in which physical format singles sales hit an all-time high of 79 million. 1979 is maybe the most diverse year ever for acts on Top of the Pops with disco at its peak, new wave, 2 Tone, reggae, rock, folk and electro records all making the top five.

Original interviews with Gary Numan, Nile Rodgers, Woody from Madness, Jah Wobble, Chas and Dave, Janet Kay, Linda Nolan, Jim Dooley, Secret Affair, the Ruts, Legs and Co and many others tell the story of an exceptional year.

In the year that the 'winter of discontent' saw continuing strikes black out ITV and TOTP reduced during a technicians strike to a narrator introducing videos, the show also found itself the site of conflict backstage. TOTP's old guard of 70s MOR acts had their feathers continually ruffled by new wave bands, as the Skids spat at the Nolan Sisters backstage and Generation X urinated off the roof onto the Dooleys.

Elsewhere in the corridors of TV Centre, in preparation for playing their single Death Disco, Public Image Ltd demanded their teeth were blacked out in make-up to appear ugly, while Gary Numan remembers the overbearing union presence which prevented TOTP artists moving their own microphones without a union technician and the Musicians Union trying to ban him from the show for his use of synthesizers.

The most popular musical styles of 1979 were 2 Tone, reggae and disco. The latter saw Nile Rodgers, the man of the year, score four hits with Chic as well as writing and producing a further four hits with Sister Sledge, Sheila B Devotion and Sugarhill Gang, who appeared with what would prove to be the first ever rap hit.

Jamaican and UK reggae artists scored continual hits through the year and then watched as the Police notched up three hits with white reggae and the label 2 Tone revived the 60s reggae style known as ska. In November, in what is remembered as the 2 Tone edition, all three of the label's new acts - Madness, Specials and Selecter - appeared on one historic night and took the show by storm, with Madness capping off their performance of One Step Beyond by leading a 'nutty train' conga through the studio.


MON 22:00 Brian Pern (b03vrsfr)
The Life of Rock with Brian Pern

Middle Age of Rock

Brian looks at rock stars who turn to acting (himself included), charity singles and protest songs. Noel Edmonds reveals for the first time how the Russians tried to take down the Concorde containing Phil Collins on his way to Live Aid in Philadelphia.


MON 22:30 Storyville (b03vrsft)
Cutie and the Boxer

Oscar-nominated documentary which explores love, sacrifice and the creative spirit through the 40-year chaotic marriage of two Japanese artists in New York, by following the rivalries that emerge as the couple prepare for a joint exhibition. Surviving decades of hardship, thwarted aspirations and the husband's chronic alcoholism, they are a study in artistic symbiosis.

Now 80 years old and finally sober, renowned 'boxing' painter Ushio still treats his wife Noriko as his assistant. Noriko, emerging from her husband's shadow, creates intimate drawings entitled 'Cutie' that tell the story of her challenging past with Ushio.

The film moves fluidly between past and present, combining observational filming, archival footage and animated sequences of Noriko's drawings. A moving portrait of a couple wrestling with the eternal challenges of marriage, against a background of lives dedicated to art.


MON 23:50 The Brits Who Built the Modern World (b03vrz4f)
The Freedom of the Future

How an exceptional generation of British architects, led by Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, conquered the globe with their high-tech vision.

The first episode includes glimpses of some of their most stunning recent work, such as London's new 'Cheesegrater' skyscraper, Spaceport America and the KK100 skyscraper in China (the tallest tower ever built by a British architect), before looking in detail at some of their revolutionary projects from the 1960s and 70s.

Foster, Rogers, Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Hopkins and Terry Farrell were born within six years of each other in the 1930s; shaped by both the optimism of the postwar years and the sixties counterculture, these pillars of today's establishment began their careers as outsiders and radicals. Rogers and his collaborators tell the story of one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century - the Pompidou Centre in Paris - the result of a contest he didn't want to enter and no-one ever thought they would win.

Other early projects featured include Norman Foster's glassy Willis Faber & Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich, Farrell & Grimshaw's corrugated aluminium tower block next to Regent's Park in London and the industrial-style Hopkins House in Hampstead.


MON 00:50 Brian Pern (b03vrsfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 01:20 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01gymg9)
Reggae - Stir it Up

By the start of the 70s, the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the UK from the Caribbean and West Indies were an established part of the British population and their influence and culture permeated UK society.

This second programme rejoices and revels in the reggae music exported from Jamaica and the home-grown reggae-influenced sounds that sprouted from the cities of England. Reggae's dominance of the UK charts is celebrated with performances from Ken Boothe, Dave and Ansel Collins, Steel Pulse, Althea and Donna, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Janet Kay, Susan Cadogan and The Specials.


MON 01:50 Amazon Abyss (b00hh4ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:50 Top of the Pops (b03mpphw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b03vpvvj)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Reel History of Britain (p00jtmff)
Britain's First Teenagers

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country, to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.

In Soho, Melvyn looks back to the 1950s and a time when Britain broke free of the burdens of the Second World War and the teenager was born. One of the original trendsetters, Wee Willy Harris, talks about the rockers who ripped up the dance floor. Molly Lowton and Jennie Prescott glimpse a much-loved friend and sister in films of their village dance. And 50s heartthrob Marty Wilde explains how the new music scene brightened up postwar Britain.


TUE 20:00 Weird Nature (b0078h4b)
Marvellous Motion

Series looking at strange animal behaviour reveals nature's quirkiest movers and shakers. From dancing seaslugs to cartwheeling caterpillars this is nature at its most weird and wonderful.

In a series of magical sequences, crocodiles gallop, salamanders transform into wheels and bushbabies bounce like rubber balls. Lizards and frogs stage an extraordinary air show, the Mexican jumping bean reveals its fidgety secrets, lemurs pogo and two-legged lizards hunt like dinosaurs. Using new filming techniques and some extraordinary special FX, this is nature as never seen before.


TUE 20:30 Secrets of Bones (b03vrtzp)
Size Matters

Evolutionary biologist and master skeleton builder Ben Garrod begins a six-part journey to discover how bones have enabled vertebrates to colonise and dominate practically every habitat on Earth.

Ben shows us what bone is constructed from and how it can support animals that are both minuscule - a frog just a few millimetres long - and massive - the blue whale, two hundred million times bigger.


TUE 21:00 Dissected (p01mv2md)
The Incredible Human Hand

In a purpose-built dissection lab, Dr George McGavin is joined by leading anatomy experts to dissect a real hand, taking it apart layer by layer to reveal what makes it unique in the animal kingdom. We discover what gives our hands an unrivalled combination of power and precision, and meet people who use their hands in extraordinary ways - from magicians to rock climbers - to discover what gives them such astonishing abilities.


TUE 22:00 Blink: A Horizon Guide to the Senses (b01kptcr)
Touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste - our senses link us to the outside world. Dr Kevin Fong looks back through 40 years of Horizon archives to find out what science has taught us about our tools of perception - why babies use touch more than any other sense, why our eyes are so easily tricked and how pioneering technology is edging closer to the dream of replacing our human senses if they fail.


TUE 23:00 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


TUE 00:00 Lost Kingdoms of South America (b01pwtqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


TUE 01:00 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]


TUE 02:00 Weird Nature (b0078h4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:30 Secrets of Bones (b03vrtzp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 03:00 Dissected (p01mv2md)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b03vpvvp)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Reel History of Britain (p00jv6tt)
Soldier, Soldier

Melvyn Bragg, accompanied by a vintage mobile cinema, travels across the country, to show incredible footage preserved by the British Film Institute and other national and regional film archives, to tell the history of modern Britain.

At the Queen's Lancashire Regiment Museum and Barracks in Preston, Melvyn looks back to the First World War, when British men answered the call to fight for king and country. Rita Humphrey shares the remarkable story of her uncle, Walter Tull, who overcame great prejudice to become the first black officer in the British Army. Richard Bell talks about his great-uncle Donald who received the highest award for valour during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. And Accrington man Les Bond gives his verdict on the sacrifice made by the men of his home town's pals battalion, including his uncle Harry, who died at the Battle of the Somme.


WED 20:00 Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth (b039vj0v)
Romans

Classicist Dr Michael Scott examines the vital role played by the Romans in the preservation of Greek drama and in the history of theatre. He explores how the Romans absorbed Greek theatre and adapted it to their own, very Roman, ends and looks at how this famous empire provides one of the crucial connections between our modern drama and the great plays of the ancient Greeks.


WED 21:00 Infested! Living with Parasites (b03vrwj8)
Dr Michael Mosley explores the bizarre and fascinating world of parasites by turning his body into a living laboratory and deliberately infesting himself with them. He travels to Kenya to give himself a tapeworm - a parasite that can grow to many metres inside the human gut. He also encounters lice, leeches and the deadly malaria parasite, before swallowing a pill-camera to reveal what is growing within him. By the end of his infestation Michael learns a new-found respect for these extraordinary creatures, which can live off and even take control of their hosts for their own survival.


WED 22:00 Parks and Recreation (b03w0gk1)
Series 3

Time Capsule

Leslie wants to bury a time capsule that encapsulates life in Pawnee, but an odd suggestion from a local man causes unforeseen consequences. Andy seeks help from Chris about how to win back April.


WED 22:20 Parks and Recreation (b03w0gk3)
Series 3

Ron and Tammy: Part Two

Tom tries to get back at Ron by going out on a date with Ron's ex-wife Tammy, while Leslie tries to protect Ron from falling prey to her charms. Meanwhile, April is assigned to work with Chris.


WED 22:45 Amazon Abyss (b00hh4ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 23:40 Michael Grade and the World's Oldest Joke (b01r3njz)
Michael Grade goes on the trail of the world's oldest joke as he sets out to discover whether jokes come and go with the passing of time or whether we are still laughing at the same things our ancestors did.


WED 00:40 Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry with Jonathan Meades (b03vrphc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 01:40 Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth (b039vj0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:40 Infested! Living with Parasites (b03vrwj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b03vpvvv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b03w0gl0)
Peter Powell presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show, including performances from the Dooleys, Generation X, Alan Price, the Pretenders, Lene Lovich, the Skids and Blondie. With dance sequences by Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Ever Decreasing Circles (b007bn62)
Series 2

The Cricket Match

Sitcom about domestic disharmony in suburbia. Martin's not happy when Paul asks if he can join him in the local cricket team.


THU 20:30 Britain on Film (b01qnnqp)
Series 1

Country Living

The series looking at the culture, economics and society of 1960s Britain turns its attention to one of our great national treasures - the countryside. Drawing on the archive of high-quality colour films produced by the country's biggest cinema company, the Rank Organisation, this film shows how new technologies and production methods were changing the face of agriculture and records how country life was adapting to the new economic and moral realities of a fast-changing nation.


THU 21:00 The Brits Who Built the Modern World (b03vgz8d)
The Power of the Past

How an exceptional generation of British architects, led by Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, conquered the globe with their high-tech vision.

This episode focuses on the 1980s, when modern architecture was deeply unpopular and under attack from the Prince of Wales. The architects reveal the dramatic stories behind some of their most famous creations, including Rogers's Lloyd's of London building and Foster's Stansted Airport.

Terry Farrell reveals how he was kept in the dark when he was designing the MI6 Headquarters, Michael Hopkins recalls the challenges of bringing ultra-modern architecture into the traditional world of Lord's Cricket Ground, and Nicholas Grimshaw follows in the footsteps of the great Victorian engineers with his Waterloo International station.


THU 22:00 The Man Who Fought the Planners: The Story of Ian Nairn (b03vrz4h)
These days, opinionated journalists are two a penny. But back in the 1950s, Ian Nairn was part of a new breed of Angry Young Men. Aged just 25 and fresh out of the RAF, he burst onto the architectural scene with Outrage, a blistering attack on the soulless destruction of Britain by shoddy post-war planners. Published in the influential Architectural Review in June 1955, it led to the formation of the Civic Trust, whose remit was to tackle the 'subtopian' eyesores Nairn had so graphically exposed.

Over the next two decades, Nairn became a tireless and passionate campaigner, both in print and on the BBC, inspiring a whole generation to take up arms against the second-rate in our towns and cities. But he himself was a deeply flawed and troubled character, who slowly drank himself to death, feeling the battle to save Britain's soul had been lost. Close colleagues and admirers, including Jonathan Meades, Gillian Darley and Jonathan Glancey, pay tribute to a remarkable man who made us look afresh at the world around us.


THU 23:00 Dissected (p01mv2md)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


THU 00:00 Brian Pern (b03vrsfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


THU 00:30 Top of the Pops (b03w0gl0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:05 Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain (b038rj1b)
Making Connections

Using her skills to uncover long-forgotten and abandoned plans, architectural investigator Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner explores the fascinating and dramatic stories behind some of the grandest designs that were never built. In this episode she looks at two of the most radical civil engineering projects proposed in the last century and explores how international politics and vested interests both drove, and derailed, plans to better connect Britain to the continent.

In the early 1900s Britain was anticipating the threat of war. As concern grew about Germany expanding its naval fleet and investing in its infrastructure, there were calls to find a way for Britain's navy to be able to react swiftly to protect our waters. The solution proposed was to create a ship canal big enough for warships to cross from the Firth of Clyde on the west of Scotland to the Firth of Forth on the east. This enormous civil engineering endeavour would have completely changed the central belt of Scotland - the favoured route was through Loch Lomond, now considered one of the most treasured wilderness areas in the country.

There was huge support for the building of the canal, not least from members of parliament who recognised the potential for creating jobs and wealth in their constituencies. The debate over whether to invest £50m of the public purse in building the canal dragged on for years in both the House of Commons and Lords, with opinion split on whether it really was a strategic imperative. In the end, technology decided the fate of the canal. By 1918, all of the naval fleet was fuelled by oil rather than coal and so instead of a canal an oil pipeline was built from the mouth of the Clyde to Grangemouth on the east, and Royal Navy destroyers never did - and never will - sail up Loch Lomond.

Fifty years later, instead of seeking to protect Britain from attacks from the continent, thoughts had turned to how to connect our island to the rest of Europe. There had been talk of building a channel tunnel between England and France for centuries. In contrast with the Mid-Scotland Canal, where strategic advantages stimulated building, it was national security concerns that cut short the first proposal for a Channel Tunnel. The idea was presented to the British by Napoleon in 1802, but was rejected over concerns that the French had covert plans to invade England.

But 170 years later, the idea was to become a reality. Britain had finally joined mainland Europe through her membership of the Common Market in 1973, and both the French and British governments agreed it made sense build a tunnel together. But in 1975, construction was again abandoned because the British prime minister, Harold Wilson, had to look for economies in a financial crisis caused by dramatically rising world oil prices. Once more, the bid to connect with the continent had failed.

The idea was resurrected yet again in the early 1980s, with several competing schemes for consideration. The boldest of these, sponsored by British Steel, was a vast structure combing a double-decker bridge and tunnel, linked to an artificial island in the middle of the English Channel. The materials for the construction of this vast project would keep the steel mills of England and Scotland busy for a decade - but the politicians chose in favour of the Eurotunnel bid and British industry lost out.

Both these grandiose schemes defined how Britain saw its relationship with Europe. In an age when the headline 'Fog in Channel - Europe Isolated' made sense, a naval ship canal that would protect our island fortress from continental rivals was considered to be in the national interest. But just 60 years later, the fog had lifted and securing Britain's national interests became dependent on a physical connection with countries previously regarded as hostile. However, both plans foundered on the conflict of politics and vested interest.


THU 02:05 Ever Decreasing Circles (b007bn62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:35 The Brits Who Built the Modern World (b03vgz8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b03vpvw2)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b03c7lcq)
Series 6

Episode 3

Music co-directors, Shetland fiddle virtuoso Aly Bain, dobro ace Jerry Douglas and their all-star house band, host a gathering of the cream of Nashville, Irish and Scottish talent in a spectacular new location overlooking the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

In this episode look out for the deftly delicate guitar of Russ Barenberg, one of the Sessions' 'founding fathers', and John McCusker's rollicking fiddle.


FRI 20:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03bm2fy)
New Frontiers

In the last of three programmes in which composer Neil Brand celebrates the art of cinema music, Neil explores how changing technology has taken soundtracks in bold new directions and even altered our very idea of how a film should sound.

Neil tells the story of how the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet ended up with a groundbreaking electronic score that blurred the line between music and sound effects, and explains why Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds has one of the most effective soundtracks of any of his films - despite having no music. He shows how electronic music crossed over from pop into cinema with Midnight Express and Chariots of Fire, while films like Apocalypse Now pioneered the concept of sound design - that sound effects could be used for storytelling and emotional impact.

Neil tracks down some of the key composers behind these innovations to talk about their work, such as Vangelis (Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner), Carter Burwell (Twilight, No Country for Old Men) and Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, Moon).


FRI 21:00 BB King: The Life of Riley (b03vsp7r)
BB King opens his heart and tells the story of how an oppressed and orphaned young man came to influence and earn the unmitigated praise of the music industry and its following to carry the title of king of the blues.

Filmed on location all over America, as well as in the UK, this picture brings to life the heat- and gin-soaked plantations where it all began, with full cooperation of the BB King museum, owners of vaults and archives so precious and immense that several trips had to be made to revisit the collection and partake of its many gems. Prejudice and segregation has stained the lives of countless black persons and BB 'Riley' King made sure that through his music, he never allowed it to mar his spirit.

This is the essence of the story that makes a beautiful film, both informative and visually captivating.


FRI 22:35 Blues at the BBC (b00k36m5)
Collection of performances by British and American blues artists on BBC programmes such as The Beat Room, A Whole Scene Going, The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Late Show.

Includes the seminal slide guitar of Son House, the British R&B of The Kinks, the unmistakeable electric sound of BB King and Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker, as well as less familiar material from the likes of Delaney and Bonnie, Freddie King and Long John Baldry.


FRI 23:35 Blues America (p01kc7bh)
Woke up This Morning

Blues is usually described as the sound of racial suffering and feeling sad, but this documentary argues that the blues began as a form of black pop music. First appearing in the southern states of the USA around 1900, blues created by the poorest people in the richest nation on earth took America by storm. The film looks at the early years of the blues to discover how Bessie Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charlie Patton used the latest media to bring their music to the public. With contributions from Keith Richards, Taj Mahal and Chuck D.


FRI 00:35 Blues America (b03kk1j7)
Bright Lights, Big City

After 1945, artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker rooted the blues firmly in the city, where it contributed to the musical desegregation of America by spawning rock 'n' roll. As the blues conquered the world and the music moved from black to white audiences, arguments developed about what was the real authentic blues. Robert Johnson returned from the dead to sell more records than any other blues artist. By the 21st century, the blues not only retained the earthiness of its roots but was also being celebrated in the White House. With contributions from Keith Richards, Bonnie Raitt, Seasick Steve and Buddy Guy.


FRI 01:40 BB King: The Life of Riley (b03vsp7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 03:15 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01h7pzm)
Troubadours – Peaceful Easy Feeling

In the early 70s as the UK got to grips with the new coinage and decimalisation and braced itself for strike after strike, a group of young troubadours were hanging out in Laurel Canyon and the environs of California USA having a ball and creating music that would define a generation. It's time to kick back and relax and enjoy performances from Crosby and Nash, Neil Young, America, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, The Eagles, and Seals and Crofts.




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

Amazon Abyss 20:00 MON (b00hh4ws)

Amazon Abyss 01:50 MON (b00hh4ws)

Amazon Abyss 22:45 WED (b00hh4ws)

Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth 20:00 WED (b039vj0v)

Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth 01:40 WED (b039vj0v)

BB King: The Life of Riley 21:00 FRI (b03vsp7r)

BB King: The Life of Riley 01:40 FRI (b03vsp7r)

Blink: A Horizon Guide to the Senses 22:00 TUE (b01kptcr)

Blues America 23:35 FRI (p01kc7bh)

Blues America 00:35 FRI (b03kk1j7)

Blues at the BBC 22:35 FRI (b00k36m5)

Brian Pern 22:00 MON (b03vrsfr)

Brian Pern 00:50 MON (b03vrsfr)

Brian Pern 00:00 THU (b03vrsfr)

Britain on Film 20:30 THU (b01qnnqp)

Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry with Jonathan Meades 21:00 SUN (b03vrphc)

Bunkers, Brutalism and Bloodymindedness: Concrete Poetry with Jonathan Meades 00:40 WED (b03vrphc)

Dissected 21:00 TUE (p01mv2md)

Dissected 03:00 TUE (p01mv2md)

Dissected 23:00 THU (p01mv2md)

Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain 01:05 THU (b038rj1b)

Ever Decreasing Circles 20:00 THU (b007bn62)

Ever Decreasing Circles 02:05 THU (b007bn62)

Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe 19:00 SUN (b007920b)

Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe 02:20 SUN (b007920b)

Free Men 22:00 SUN (b01m5d3d)

Infested! Living with Parasites 21:00 WED (b03vrwj8)

Infested! Living with Parasites 02:40 WED (b03vrwj8)

Kings of Rock and Roll 01:20 SUN (b007c95q)

Lost Kingdoms of South America 20:00 SAT (b01pwtqy)

Lost Kingdoms of South America 02:40 SAT (b01pwtqy)

Lost Kingdoms of South America 00:00 TUE (b01pwtqy)

Michael Grade and the World's Oldest Joke 23:40 WED (b01r3njz)

Neil Sedaka Says: All You Need Is the Music 00:35 SUN (b00pwstt)

Neil Sedaka: King of Song 23:35 SUN (b03v2yxt)

Parks and Recreation 22:00 WED (b03w0gk1)

Parks and Recreation 22:20 WED (b03w0gk3)

Queens of Disco 00:10 SAT (b0074thh)

Reel History of Britain 19:30 MON (p00jtm6v)

Reel History of Britain 19:30 TUE (p00jtmff)

Reel History of Britain 19:30 WED (p00jv6tt)

Salamander 21:00 SAT (b01pyjxw)

Salamander 21:50 SAT (b01q6gjp)

Secrets of Bones 20:30 TUE (b03vrtzp)

Secrets of Bones 02:30 TUE (b03vrtzp)

Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies 20:00 FRI (b03bm2fy)

Sounds of the 70s 2 01:20 MON (b01gymg9)

Sounds of the 70s 2 03:15 FRI (b01h7pzm)

Storyville 22:30 MON (b03vrsft)

TOTP2 22:40 SAT (b007v15w)

The Brits Who Built the Modern World 23:50 MON (b03vrz4f)

The Brits Who Built the Modern World 21:00 THU (b03vgz8d)

The Brits Who Built the Modern World 02:35 THU (b03vgz8d)

The Man Who Fought the Planners: The Story of Ian Nairn 22:00 THU (b03vrz4h)

The Sky at Night 01:10 SAT (b03vg99x)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 20:00 SUN (b0336tf3)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 01:00 TUE (b0336tf3)

Top of the Pops 21:00 MON (b03mpphw)

Top of the Pops 02:50 MON (b03mpphw)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b03w0gl0)

Top of the Pops 00:30 THU (b03w0gl0)

Transatlantic Sessions 19:30 FRI (b03c7lcq)

Weird Nature 20:00 TUE (b0078h4b)

Weird Nature 02:00 TUE (b0078h4b)

Wild China 19:00 SAT (b00c5n6g)

Wild China 01:40 SAT (b00c5n6g)

Wild China 23:00 TUE (b00c5n6g)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b03vpvvc)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b03vpvvj)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b03vpvvp)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b03vpvvv)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b03vpvw2)